Today, I’d like to share a new article posted in our Remodeling of Blog Cabin 2013 package on HGTVRemodels.com. It’s all about additions made to the original Blog Cabin 2013 structure. Project manager Dylan Eastman and his team uncovered six separate renovations as they opened up walls, examined window frames and took a look at shingles and building materials. Even the age of nails helped the team separate original structure from add-on.

Question for someone with local knowledge….via the CabinCam….water view….zoom in to the end of the dock so you can include the left and right tall posts and the horizon. We are looking South, maybe slightly SSW. There is a structure on the horizon located between the tall posts, approx 1/4 left to right from the left posts…..is that Lookout Lighthouse (roughly 20 miles away)?

RLD on March 13, 2013 at 2:02 pm

Its only about 2.5 mi away. No lighthouse there.

540sam on March 13, 2013 at 2:50 pm

540 sam, I think we must be looking in different directions. According to the aerial photo that I'm looking at, BC dock points SSW…there is a close barrier island to the Southeast (with a shallow but convenient inlet – New Drum Inlet) that is only 2.5 miles away..I agree, no structures there. I have a NOAA navigational chart that places the lighthouse in line with the dock. Can the lighthouse be seen on a clear day from the BC site?

RLD on March 13, 2013 at 4:44 pm

SE of the cottage (just to the left of the dock) there is the Core Banks which can be seen on the camera sometimes depending on light, weather etc. After than there's nothing for hundreds, if not thousands of miles. The Cape Lookout lighthouse is, as you say, to the SW (maybe SSW) and about 20 miles. A 'rule of thumb' is that a 6ft tall person standing on the shore of a calm sea can see out about 2.5 -3 miles on a clear day. The lighthouse is 163 ft tall and the beam is visible 19 miles away. Given the camera is maybe 10ft up I believe it's possible, with good weather conditions, it may be visible. I'm also confident that someone standing on the upper deck of the cottage could, possibly, see it and would almost certainly see the light at night. http://www.carolinalights.com/north-carolina-ligh…

Clive on March 13, 2013 at 5:16 pm

Thanks…you bring so much information to this blog!

RLD on March 13, 2013 at 5:35 pm

RLD I know the light you are talking about, assuming the camera is @ 10' and the light is at 160' mathmatically that works out to be about 13mi line of sight, so I dont think thats the light. hope this helps.

540sam on March 13, 2013 at 6:40 pm

Thanks, it does.

RLD on March 13, 2013 at 8:03 pm

RLD it would be very interesting if you are seeing Portsmouth Village, which sits on the north core banks. Portsmouth Village is a preserved and protected part of the Cape Lookout National Seashore, sitting on it's north end. You can ferry over from Atlantic, NC using the Morris Marina Kabin Kamps & Ferry Service Inc.( in maybe thirty minutes) They have cabins on the North banks that they rent as well. Possibly you are seeing the Village or the cabins? I have very little time to blog right now, and it's been days since I have been on cabin cam…. so I don't know if that's what you are seeing or not. I only know Portsmouth is across from the BC and much closer than the Cape Lookout Lighthouse. The Cape Lookout National Seashore is over 50 miles long, and the Lighthouse sits on the south end.
Mary shared with the blog that the architect for Blog Cabin used the inspiration of the Life Saving Station that is on Portsmouth to inspire the use of the cupola for the cabin. Giving the home some "local" flavor. The winner of BC will probably enjoy visiting Portsmouth. It's a short trip! and offers the unique history and insight of an authentic fishing village from many years gone by. Portsmouth Village still stands and keeps it's rightful place in history for the Core Sounders and their way of life!

Mel on March 13, 2013 at 7:11 pm

Wikipedia (which is not always accurate) says the Cape lookout lighthouse is visible at 19 miles. My measurements on Bing.com maps puts the BC just over 18 miles away and when you add the height of the camera above sea level, it definitely should be visible, but not very much above the horizon and to the right of the dock centerline.

Ishmael on March 14, 2013 at 4:09 pm

Ishmael, what wikipedia is refering to is the distance that the light can be seen at night at sea, not the lighthouse itsself. See if wakipedeia has a line of sight to horizon formula(they have everything else) and it will explain curvature and refraction and hopefully give the formula for finding distance.

540sam on March 15, 2013 at 6:28 am

Busy, busy, busy! Snowed here again today, looks great there! Good day all!:D

amberPA on March 13, 2013 at 2:48 pm

Amber, thanks, it's now snowing in NY…was really hoping with all the rain we've had, the snow would finally be gone…should have known better when you said it snowed there….

TishaStanley on March 13, 2013 at 3:18 pm

Hi guys, haven't been feeling well the last couple days. I hate when I don't even feel well enough to blog. I miss talking to my friends and seeing how much was accomplished on the house and dock. It is funny how you miss a lot in just one day. They are really working hard. The dock is going great. They are a lot farther than I thought they would be. It is so nice there. How has everybody been? Much Love!! <3<3

Rebecca on March 13, 2013 at 3:35 pm

Hi Rebecca! Glad you are able to blog with us for a bit. Are you doing ok? Judy

JudyInMich on March 13, 2013 at 3:49 pm

Hi Judy, I am OK just on bedrest due to my condition. Thanks for asking. How are you doing? They are getting a lot done at the BC. Those guys are awesome! Hope all is well for you? Much Love!! <3<3

Rebecca on March 13, 2013 at 5:09 pm

Rebecca, Sorry to hear that you haven't been feeling very well. Let's hope today is a better day! Becky:)<3

bythebaydreamer on March 14, 2013 at 3:08 am

Rebecca, I hope you will be feeling better soon. At least you can access the Blog while resting in bed. <3 Just get the rest you need too. I know how it is to be under the weather and not feeling like you have enough energy to enjoy things that bring you happiness. ((hugs))
Chris-IN

They're putting siding on the front gable (?) and it looks like before they started that, they added some molding detail. NICE!!

karenlin91 on March 13, 2013 at 3:46 pm

Hey friends, soooo excited about voting on outdoor features! With such a beautiful location, there are many
landscape ideas and dock plans working my brain overtime!! Can't wait to see what Diy comes up with(:
Hope there will be lots of functional and fun inspirational creativity (*_*.) Best of luck to everyone!!!

dona on March 13, 2013 at 5:27 pm

Wow I hope a lot of you caught the sunset this evening. Beautifull.

540sam on March 13, 2013 at 6:53 pm

Absolutely Beautiful!!!! The reflection of the pink sunset on the windows was amazing too!
I kept think how wonderful it would be if I were cooking local fish and vegetables on the patio grill and sipping a crisp glass of wine.

Lia_M on March 13, 2013 at 7:28 pm

Well, at least the camera behaved today and I got to see the progress on the new pier. Doesn't look like it's going to go anywhere in a storm. I wonder if the stringers are nailed to the pilings or if they are bolted on. I tried to zoom in enough to tell, but it just got fuzzy,

Dghawk4 on March 13, 2013 at 7:54 pm

Hi Dottie! If you zoom in and it gets fuzzy, try another click of Cam, i find that clears it up for me sometimes.;)^_^<3 Kitty

Good night, all…."see" you in the morning…new voting for us, another day of watching and wondering…

Tisha

TishaStanley on March 13, 2013 at 9:47 pm

I know that generator back up systems have been mentioned a few times, heres a thought. How about a windmill power back up system? What do you think? The coastal breez gives a constant movement and no fuel to bother with.

540sam on March 14, 2013 at 5:45 am

I've wondered about solar power, hadn't even thought of wind, although I see wind farms in CA ….but they're big! How big would a windmill have to be ? It seems there is always a supply of wind there, so it might be an option.

karenlin91 on March 14, 2013 at 8:26 am

Those large windmills that you see on windmill farms are huge and put out a lot of power to supply a lot of people. The typical home system only has blades about 4 or 5ft end to end. You can google, home windmill power, and check them out.

540sam on March 14, 2013 at 8:52 am

We have windmill farms here, in NY. Although it is a great idea, I have to tell you that the windmill farms we have are "shady". A contract has to be signed and no one is allowed to know how the deal went. As in the person signing the contract can tell no one. NY does not receive the energy generated from these windmills The red light messes with a persons eyes–if they live within close proximity, and the blades make a continuous "whoop-whoop" sound that can be annoying.

I only know about this because the company that put windmill farms in around this area wanted to put them in the cornfield behind my house, and I did the homework.

TishaStanley on March 14, 2013 at 9:57 am

The problem with wind generators for an entire house is cost and size. For a house like this you would probably need a generator producing close to 1000KW hours per month. Then you need controllers, inverters and batteries which need to be housed above flood level. Cost of a system like this including the tower to hold the turbine will probably be in excess of $20K. Then there's annual maintenance costs and periodic replacement of rotor blades etc. There's an additional concern in that during a violent storm or hurricane the turbine will not be able to work as the blades will need to be ‘feathered’ to prevent the tower being destroyed in the wind. So, at the time of greatest need it can't be used.

A solar system rated to at least keep fridges and fans working may be a better option but they also have a high cost and incur significant maintenance and installation costs. However, they will work on the coldest, cloudy days. The good news is that both these systems qualify for federal and state rebates and tax breaks.

I'm all for getting off the grid if possible but it's not nearly as easy as many folks think, nor cost efficient in many cases.

Clive on March 14, 2013 at 10:08 am

Wow Clive 10000KW per month. I had no idea. But I was only thinking in terms of emergency, periodac usage on a limited basis during outages. Of course any auxillary system would have to be elevated, generator, solar or wind. Then again I dont know how solar pannels that would supply 10000Kw would stand a 100+mph winds would last.

540sam on March 14, 2013 at 10:31 am

That's 1000 KW/month, not 10000 .

It's load that matters. In an emergency the power load (if the same appliances are used in the house) will be the same whether it's for a day or a month. Units are rated KWH per month. You can divide by 30 if you wish but the system has to be able to handle the same load if it's for 1 second or one month.

Panels can be aerodynamically designed and sited to provide minimum wind resistance and uplift in a storm but will continue to function. Wind generators of any size can't unless the tower is massively strong.

In a major storm, if the residents haven't taken the prudent decision to evacuate, they really need power for lights, fans and refrigeration. The rest is unnecessary in the short term. Getting a solar system that can handle those demands would be a good, cost effective way to go if the owner could afford the initial outlay for the system. Sadly, the least green option, a diesel powered whole house generator is still, probably, the cheapest and most effective way to go.:)

Clive on March 14, 2013 at 10:53 am

Have you checked the price of diesel lately.LOL:(

540sam on March 14, 2013 at 11:19 am

540sam, Clive seems to be the best resource here. For a family-sized wind turbine, the cost is high. On the rare occasion that you can sell the power back to the power co., it takes a good while to make the turbine profitable. For these smaller turbines, noise isn't as much of an issue. Solar panels will eventually pay off, as well. Everyone knows the cost of diesel nowadays, but that fuel lasts longer in the tanks than gasoline does. (Someone please agree here!) And it's less flamable for storage.
I'm still hoping for backup power that's affordable, I swear I don't see it in the near future. Wind or solar power might be the way to go, but it still costs so much.
Don't forget that you have to wire your house to live with whatever alternate power source you decide on & what appliances you want to run solely on that power source during an outage. All that is better decided during construction while the electrician is there and can do the pre-wiring. And it must be wired correctly so the power you generate doesn't go back up the lines and fry some guy repairing the public lines. It's a mind-boggling thing.
WCG

Wind Chime Girl on March 17, 2013 at 12:01 am

Hi Wind Chime Girl, there is no best resource for answers for alternate power, just different applications and openions. All have their advantages and drawbacks. The more efficient a system is the more costly. All has to do with its application and what resources are available such as the amount of wind, sun or fossel fuel, otherwise everyone would have the same. As one of my engineering profs once said, "When someone invents the perfect widget, everyone will have widgets."
Its the same with alternitive power. I only suggested wind because in this situation it is the most constant resource, day or night, for the area. and i am aware of the requirement for hook ups. Thanks for responding.

540sam on March 17, 2013 at 3:45 am

Hey, solar would be a good idea too…I think solar is cheaper actually. I wonder if that will be in the plans. I am not sure how the house is situated via NE/SW or whatever….but it would be easy to integrate at this point of the building.

pickadillymonk on March 17, 2013 at 3:24 am

This is a great idea, 540sam! And it would be nice to watch it making power, too ;=). I would have liked to see some back-up power also. I actually already have a generator, but a system that is already installed would be better.

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Blog Cabin is the groundbreaking multimedia experience based on a very simple idea: You Design It, We Build It, You Could Win It! This truly interactive series asks Internet users to vote on the design features for a real vacation getaway. Expert hosts will transform an original 1970s hilltop house in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho that will become a luxurious home for a lucky sweepstakes winner. Plus, a one-hour Blog Cabin special, hosted by tool expert Chris Grundy, will highlight the incredible transformation.